UFI releases latest World Map of Exhibition Venues

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Paris, 10th December: UFI, The Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, in collaboration with jwc GmbH, have released the latest edition of the World Map of Exhibition Venues, providing the latest insights into venue capacity worldwide.

This report covered 22 global markets with over 300,000 m2 of gross indoor exhibition space. Asia-Pacific region now accounts for 38.5% of global venue capacity, surpassing Europe, which accounts for 36.7%, for the first time. While North America was the third, with 17.1%. The markets covered in this report including Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Poland, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Turkey, UAE, United Kingdom, and the USA.

Kai Hattendorf, UFI CEO, said, “Exhibition venues are key drivers of the development of our industry globally. The 2024 World Map of Exhibition Venues offers unparalleled insight into the scale and distribution of this vital resource. This is helping industry professionals make informed decisions in an ever-changing global landscape. As a forward-looking indicator, venue developments are investments into future exhibition business. With this in mind, one key development is that Asia-Pacific now offers more total venue space than Europe – for the first time since UFI began tracking venue sizes.”

HKCEC welcomes 2 million attendance during September to November

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Hong Kong, 12th December: During September to November 2024, the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC) hosted a total of 205 events, welcoming an attendance of nearly 2 million.

Among the 205 events, 31 were exhibitions, 29 were conferences, and the others were banquets, corporate events and entertainment events. According to the HKCEC, the 31 exhibitions held during September to November attracted an attendance of almost 1.6 million from about 150 countries and regions.

Ms Monica Lee-Müller, Managing Director of Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (Management) Limited (HML), the professional and private management company of the HKCEC, was quoted, “September to November have always been one of our peak event seasons at the HKCEC. We are excited to have welcomed international and local trade buyers, delegates and visitors who packed our halls and concourses to make face-to-face connections and closed business deals at the HKCEC in the last three months. The success of all these events reaffirmed Hong Kong’s status as Asia’s Events Capital and its roles as a “super connector” and a “super value-adder” between the Mainland and the rest of the world. These events do not only boost Hong Kong’s economy, but also attract elites of industries from around the world to personally experience Hong Kong’s vibrancy.”

Messe Frankfurt’s sales at €780m

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Frankfurt, 9th December: In the financial year 2024, Messe Frankfurt expected sales will be €780 million (US$819 million), up 28% over the previous year.

The company will have held more than 330 events by the end of the financial year, with over 98,000 exhibiting companies and about 4.4 million visitors. The Frankfurt exhibition grounds hosted more than 200 trade fairs, conferences, congresses and other guest events.

In Asia, Messe Frankfurt operated about 60 trade fairs in 11 sector clusters during the year. New events were also launched in Central Asia and in the ASEAN region.

Mike Josef, Chairman of the Messe Frankfurt Supervisory Board and Mayor of Frankfurt, stated, “With its strong portfolio, Messe Frankfurt has once again generated enormous momentum in this financial year – not only globally but also at its Frankfurt base, as an economic driving force and as a creator of jobs. Messe Frankfurt’s future-oriented positioning as a provider of digital infrastructure for event organisers is also progressing very well. It is important for the City of Frankfurt to help strengthen our reputation as a trade fair centre and also to fully support Messe Frankfurt’s commitment to sustainability.”

Messe München to reach €530m turnover in 2024

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Munich, 4th December: International exhibition organiser, Messe München, projected its sales volume preliminarily at €530 million (US$557 million). At the headquarters in Munich, it is expected the company to generate a turnover of €330 million (US$357 million). In 2025, the company predicted a turnover of over €500 million (US$525 million).

According to Messe München, in 2024, the company organised 16 events in Munich, 93 guest events and 47 events abroad. The events in Munich featured 32,000 exhibitors and 1.3 million visitors, while the events abroad attracted 22,500 exhibitors and 1.2 million visitors. Outside Germany, China and India are Messe München’s two most important markets, with China hosting 26 events at six locations, and India hosted 19 events at five locations.

The company two CEOs, Reinhard Pfeiffer and Stefan Rummel, commented, “The strength of our portfolio of twelve leading international trade fairs and a robust core business is evident in this difficult economic environment in Germany. Our events continue to be as popular as ever – something that people are least willing to miss. It is the decision-makers who attend, which is important for initiating business at a trade fair.”

Quick takes

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bauma CHINA 2024’s exhibitors up 24%

bauma CHINA 2024 featured 3,542 exhibitors from 32 countries, an increase of 24% from the 2020 edition. The trade fair was held from 26th to 29th November, at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre (SNIEC), covering over 330,000 m2 of exhibition space. A total of 281,488 trade visitors from 188 countries and regions attended the trade fair for construction machinery, building material machines, mining machines, and construction vehicles.

HKTDC opens DesignInspire

The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) opened its DesignInspire at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC), running from 5th to 7th December. Under the theme of “Design for a Better Tomorrow”, the event showcased cutting-edge concepts from more than 200 exhibitors.

U.S. exhibition industry recovering

The Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR) released its latest U.S. B2B exhibition industry results. In the third quarter of 2024, CEIR Total Index was at 88.8% of post-pandemic level. Of the four criteria, Net Square Feet (NSF) was 2.7% below the 2019 level, Exhibitors was 7% below, Attendees was the lowest, at 17.8% below, and Real Revenues was 16.3% below the post-pandemic level.